“Of course magic is the most important thing in the magical world. I mean, without magic, there wouldn’t even be a magical world because without magic, there wouldn’t be the word magical to put in front of the word world because magic wouldn’t exist. So it’d just be the world,” I explained.

Somehow, time had crept by with astonishing speed since that first Quidditch match, and we were already half way through December. In fact, it was already the end of the first term. I’d just been on my way to the entrance hall to depart from Hogwarts when the Marauders had derailed me.

The next thing I knew there was a stag in my face. It crossed my mind briefly that he was very pretty, and I almost reached out to stroke my hand down his nose. I managed to stop myself before I could do so. “Very impressive, James.”